Few 21st-century racehorses have stirred the imagination more than the great Zenyatta. A huge, nearly black mare, she combined extraordinary talent with dramatic flair and an appealing personality to such an extent that many experienced observers have judged her the equal or even the superior of the great Ruffian. Unbeaten through 19 starts, she gained even greater stature in her sole defeat, just failing to catch American champion older male Blame after seeming hopelessly beaten in the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic (USA-I). As a broodmare, she continues to be followed by thousands of fans.

Runner-up in 2009 Eclipse Award voting for Horse of the Year (the winner, star 3-year-old filly Rachel Alexandra, received 130 votes to Zenyatta's 99)

Secretariat Vox Populi Award (2010)

Assessments

Rated at 125 pounds on the 2008 World Thoroughbred Rankings, 5 pounds below co-highweights Curlin (the American Horse of the Year) and European champion 3-year-old male New Approach.

Rated at 128 pounds on the 2009 World Thoroughbred Rankings, 8 pounds below highweighted Sea the Stars (the European Horse of the Year) and 2 pounds below the brilliant miler Goldikova, who was topweighted among fillies and mares.

Rated at 125 pounds on the 2010 World Thoroughbred Rankings, 10 pounds below highweighted Harbinger (who earned his rating for his victory in the King George IV and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, ENG-I) but tied with Goldikova as tops among fillies and mares.

As an individual

Officially registered as a dark bay or brown, Zenyatta's height has been variously reported from 17 to 17.2 hands; The Blood-Horse gives it as 17.1 hands. Like her dam Vertigineux, she has great power and scope with a tremendous shoulder and hip but has less than ideal ankles. Her high withers required a custom-made exercise saddle. She was too big and backward to be raced at 2 and did not start until November of her 3-year-old season. Her trademark was a huge closing rush after dropping far off the pace early. During her walkovers from the barn to the paddock on race days, she was also known for doing the “Zenyatta dance,” a high-stepping gait resembling the Spanish walk of a trained dressage horse. She had a huge stride estimated at 26 feet. She is known for her intelligence and her kind, sociable disposition, although she could be a tough customer when tacked up and on the track.

As a producer

Zenyatta has produced two named foals. Her first, the Bernardini colt Cozmic One, was foaled March 8, 2012. After failing to win in five starts, he was gelded and is in training for a second career. Zenyatta's second foal is a 2013 colt by Tapit, Ziconic, who was third in his debut on February 20, 2016, at Santa Anita and so far has placed in eight of his 12 starts. Zenyatta produced a filly by War Front in 2014, but this filly had to be humanely destroyed in August 2014 due to injuries suffered in a paddock accident. Zenyatta was not bred for a 2015 foal and produced a colt by War Front on April 10, 2016, that died after three days. She produced a Medaglia d'Oro filly on May 10, 2017, but lost her 2018 Into Mischief foal. She was not bred for a 2019 foal.

Connections

Zenyatta was bred by Eric Kronfeld in the name of his Maverick Production, Limited. She is owned by Jerry and Ann Moss, who purchased her for US$60,000 at the 2005 Keeneland September yearling sale. She was trained by John Shirreffs. Since her retirement, she has been boarded at Lane's End Farm in Kentucky.

Pedigree notes

Zenyatta is inbred 5x4 to Hail to Reason and Hoist the Flag and 5x5 to Nashua. She is a half sister to multiple Grade I winner Balance (by Thunder Gulch) and stakes winner Where's Bailey (by Aljabr), dam of 2015 Yellow Ribbon Stakes (USA-IIT) winner She's Not Here (by Street Cry). Zenyatta's dam Vertigineux, the 2008 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year, is a half sister to European stakes winners National Service (by Master Willie); Blash (by Master Willie); and Restrained (by Robellino), dam of French stakes winner Resting (by Bering) and second dam of stakes winners Mangrove and Kersimon. Vertigineux is also a half sister to Mountcat (by Mountain Cat), dam of Malaysian stakes winner Monsili (by Dansili).

Vertigineux and her siblings are out of the winning Forli mare For the Flag, a half sister to Grade III winner Helenska (by Nijinsky II; second dam of Grade II winner War Kill). Another half sister to For the Flag, Miss Reality (by In Reality), is the second dam of Grade III winner Sweetest Thing and three other stakes winners. For the Flag, in turn, is out of In the Offing (by Hoist the Flag), a half sister to 1976 Kentucky Oaks (USA-II) winner Sweet Alliance (by Sir Ivor; dam of 1983 Derby Stakes, ENG-I, winner Shareef Dancer, by Northern Dancer), Grade II Dancing Champ (by Nijinsky II), and stakes winner Whydidju (by Hoist the Flag's sire Tom Rolfe).

Books and media

“Zenyatta” is the twelfthchapter in Horse Racing Divas: From Azeri to Zenyatta, Twelve Fillies and Mares Who Achieved Horse Racing's Highest Honor. The book was written by the staff and correspondents of The Blood-Horseand was released in 2011.

Zenyatta: A Living Legendis a DVD recording released by Breeders' Cup Ltd. in 2008.

The Blood-Horsereleased a special commemorative edition in 2010 titled Zenyatta: Racing's Queen.

CBS News released a DVD of its 60 Minutesprofile on Zenyatta (see below in “Fun facts”) on May 1, 2011.

Zenyatta's official website is www.zenyatta.com, where fans can find information about the mare and her team and access video footage of all her races. The site also has a blog to keep fans informed about Zenyatta's condition and activities and a shop selling Zenyatta merchandise.

Fun facts

Zenyatta draws her name from a 1980album by The Police, Zenyatta Mondatta. The band was signed to A&M records by Jerry Moss, and the group's former lead singer, Sting (now a solo recording artist), is a personal friend of the Mosses.

Zenyatta is commonly known to fans as “Z” or “Queen Z.”

Although she would have been a bargain at almost any price, Zenyatta's US$60,000 price tag as a yearling was much lower than expected and was partly due to a skin disease she picked up a few days prior to the sale.

Unlike most racehorses, Zenyatta did not jog or gallop to warm up before a race. Instead, regular pilot Mike Smith would let her stand and look over the crowd and her competition.

Like many large horses, Zenyatta found the starting gate confining to the point of claustrophobia. She would not try to get in gear at the break until she was completely clear of the gate, a habit that forced her to come from far off the pace in most of her races.

Zenyatta is the first filly or mare to have won the Breeders' Cup Classic (USA-I). Her victory also made her the first horse to have won two different Breeders' Cup races.

Zenyatta's connections were honored with the "Big Sport of Turfdom" award in November 2009. The award is presented annually by the Turf Publicists of America to the individual or group judged to have done the most to enhance the coverage of Thoroughbred racing through cooperation with media and racing publicists.

Zenyatta's victory in the 2010 Lady's Secret Stakes (USA-I) was her 14thin a Grade I race, setting a new record for Grade I wins by a North American filly or mare.

Zenyatta's win in the 2010 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes made her the first horse to win eight consecutive Grade or Group I events.

Zenyatta's streak of 17 straight stakes victories in open competition (not restricted except by age or gender) is the longest for any North American racer. Adding to the impressiveness of her feat, all 17 wins were in Grade I or Grade II races.

When Zenyatta went to the post for the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic (USA-I), she carried the name of Marjorie Gawley in her browband as a posthumous tribute to a Canadian teacher of that name. Much loved in the English-speaking community in Quebec, Gawley had greatly loved dancing and in her final days had enjoyed watching video footage of the “Zenyatta dance.”

Zenyatta retired as the leading money winner among North American-based fillies and mares.

Following her official retirement in November 2010, Zenyatta made public appearances at Hollywood Park and Keeneland to give her fans a chance to say goodbye.

For three straight years, one of Zenyatta's races was named the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's “Moment of the Year.” The races selected for this honor were her victory in the 2008 Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic (USA-I), her victory in the 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic (USA-I) and her narrow defeat in the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic (USA-I).

Zenyatta was honored with the inaugural Secretariat Vox Populi Award in 2010 as the horse whose combination of popularity and racing excellence gained both popular acclaim and recognition for the sport of Thoroughbred racing.

Zenyatta finished second in Associated Press voting for Female Athlete of the Year in both 2009 (to tennis player Serena Williams, who won five Grand Slam titles that year) and 2010 (to skier Lindsey Vonn, who won the first-ever gold medal for an American woman in the women's downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics).

Zenyatta was featured in magazine profiles in Oprah Winfrey's Omagazine and the CondéNast publication Wprior to her 2010 attempt at winning a repeat victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic; she was also profiled on the television show 60 Minutes.

Zenyatta was featured on a 2010 billboard promoting the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.

Zenyatta is the first horse to have won the William H. May Award, which was presented to the Mosses on her behalf in 2011. The award honors an individual or group that has provided meritorious service to the Thoroughbred industry.

A statue of Zenyatta was unveiled at Santa Anita in 2012, joining the statues of Seabiscuit and John Henry in the Paddock Gardens area near the main grandstand. Zenyatta is also honored at Santa Anita with the annual running of the Zenyatta Stakes, a Grade I race for fillies and mares aged 3 and up. It is contested at 8½ furlongs on dirt.

Zenyatta is an honorary member of the Professional Business Women of California and the San Pedro Assistance League.

Zenyatta's pasture buddy at Lane's End is Pirate Queen, a 2007 mare by Unbridled's Song.

The Run the Bluegrass half-marathon in Lexington honors a different Thoroughbred each year, and Zenyatta was the honoree for the 2014 edition.

Acknowledgements

American Classic Pedigrees thanks Joanna McManus for her permission to use her photo of Zenyatta in the post parade for the 2010 Apple Blossom Handicap (USA-I). Please do not copy or distribute this photo without her consent. If you would like to contact her, please e-mail me at aviechat@hotmail.com and I will pass on the message.